Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship Norwegian Bliss is due into Southampton tomorrow (Saturday) following a two-day preview sailing from Germany.
The 4,000-passenger vessel is due to arrive in the UK from Bremerhaven in Germany following an 18-month building period at the Meyer Werft shipyard.
The 168,028-gross-ton ship features a two-level electric-car race track, an open air laser tag course and side-by-side waterslide.
The third ship in the line’s Breakaway Plus class will then leave for the US for two-night preview events in New York, Miami and Los Angeles before a christening ceremony and sailing from its first homeport at Pier 66 in Seattle on May 30.
Following a three-day inaugural voyage with a call into the port of Victoria in British Columbia, Norwegian Bliss will return on June 2 to embark on its first seven-day voyage to Alaska.
The 16th ship in the NCL fleet will move from Alaska in the autumn to run departures from Los Angeles to Mexico and will spend winter 2018-19 sailing to the Caribbean from Miami before re-positioning to New York to run Florida, Bahamas and Caribbean cruises.
NCL president and chief executive, Andy Stuart, said: “Norwegian Bliss is one of our most highly-anticipated ships to date, and today marks another exciting milestone for the newest and most innovative ship of our young and modern fleet.”